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2010–11 pre-season
Rovers arranged six first team pre-season games in the lead up to the 2010–11 campaign, and a further four for a Bristol Rovers XI. † The matches against Wells City, Forest Green Rovers, Llanelli and Weston-super-Mare were contested by a Bristol Rovers XI, consisting of youth and reserve team players. Bath City The opening fixture of the pre-season campaign was taken more as a fitness workout than as competitive match practice, and Rovers fielded an almost completely different team in the first half from the second. Bath took the lead in the first minute of the match through Lee Phillips, and they sealed the victory late in the game when Yan Klukowski netted a second to make the final result 2–0 to The Romans. ;Lineups: Scotland tour The club took a squad of eighteen players to Scotland for the two-match tour. Those taken were: In addition to these players, goalkeeper Luke Daniels joined the squad midway through the tour, after returning from a training camp in The Netherlands with his parent club, West Bromwich Albion. Greenock Morton Rovers began their two-game mini-tour of Scotland with a 3–1 victory over Greenock Morton at Cappielow Park. This was treated more like a competitive match than the Bath game, with the regulation seven substitutes being named, of which three were used. Jeff Hughes opened the scoring with a 4th-minute penalty, which was awarded when Morton midfielder Allan Jenkins handled in the area when defending a corner. Rovers had made it 3–0 by the break thanks to a brace from Jo Kuffour, and Greenock rounded off the scoring when Peter Weatherson netted a consolation goal from the penalty spot after new boy Gary Sawyer was adjudged to have fouled Graeme Holmes. Unused subs: Reece, Clough, Pell, Richards Partick Thistle The tour was concluded with a 2–0 win over Partick Thistle. The players fitness continued to improve, although the game itself was reportedly not particularly entertaining. Wayne Brown scored his first goal in a Rovers shirt in the 71st minuted, and Eliot Richards rounded off the scoring with a shot that was deflected into the net by a Partick defender. Unused subs: Green, Clough Wells City A Bristol Rovers XI consisting mainly of youth and reserve team players faced Wells City at the Athletic Ground in a match organised to celebrate the opening of the team's new floodlights. Rovers ran out 3–2 winners thanks to a goal from Charlie Clough and a brace from Lamar Powell, despite going behind early in the game. West Bromwich Albion The fourth team to provide pre-season opposition for the Rovers first team in 2010 was Premier League side West Bromwich Albion. The Pirates' on-loan goalkeeper Luke Daniels was due to face his parent club in this match, but an injury suffered in the warm-up meant that Mike Green had to be brought into the team at the last minute. The top flight club proved too strong for The Gas, winning by a single goal. The game also marked Lamar Powell's first foray into first team football, after being added to the squad thanks to his two-goal performance against Wells two days earlier. He had been an unused substitute in one game the previous season, but this was the first time he had played first team football for Rovers, albeit in a non-competitive match. Unused subs: Clarke, Clough, Pell Forest Green Rovers A second warmup game for a Bristol Rovers XI was played at The New Lawn on 26 July, when a young Gas side were beaten 3–0 by their Blue Square Premier opponents. All of the scoring took place in the first half, thanks to Reece Styche and Ross Dyer scoring on 11 and 16 minutes respectively to give Forest Green a 2–0 lead, before Rovers new boy Harry Pell miscued a clearance and put the ball into his own net to round off the scoring at 3–0. The Pirates put in an improved performance in the second half, but were not able to break down a Forest Green defence that included Rovers old boy Craig Armstrong. Unused subs: McKenna, Hoyle, Camm Cheltenham Town The first team travelled to Whaddon Road for their fifth warmup game, which they drew 0–0 with a Cheltenham Town side that featured a number of ex-Rovers players in their lineup. They were captained by Steve Elliott, who had been released by The Pirates just a few weeks earlier, and also included Josh Low and Josh Klein-Davies among their ranks. The game itself was a fairly even affair in the first half, with neither side stamping their authority on proceedings, and although Rovers were more of a dominant force after the break they were unable to get themselves on the scoresheet. Unused subs: Pell, Clough, Powell, Swallow, Richards, Jefferies Llanelli The third game for the reserves saw them face Welsh side Llanelli, who had already played a competitive match in European competition before this meeting. Rovers won the fixture 1–0, thanks to a goal from Eliot Richards and the referee disallowing an effort from the Welshmen, who included former Rovers loanee Chris Llewellyn among their number. Unused subs: Camm, Parker Stoke City The first team lost 2–1 to their Premier League opponents in their final game before the start of the season. Dominic Blizzard grabbed an equaliser after Tuncay had given Stoke the lead, but Ricardo Fuller netted the winner in first half injury time. The game marked the return of Mikkel Andersen to the Rovers squad, who had been brought in after Luke Daniels had his loan contract cancelled due to injury. Unused subs: Green, Clough Weston-super-Mare The reserves ended their pre-season games with defeat at Weston. The seagulls' captain, Craig Rand, netted the only goal of the game mid-way through the second half, and although Rovers had some chances to score none of them were converted. Unused subs: Butler, Bowle, Rhoden, Harrison, Dale, Goddard, Harding, Staley Category:Seasons Category:2010 Category:Bath City Category:Greenock Morton Category:Partick Thistle Category:Wells City Category:West Bromwich Albion Category:Forest Green Rovers Category:Cheltenham Town Category:Llanelli Category:Stoke City Category:Weston-super-Mare